After Chosen
by Laurie is me
Summary: After the final episode of BTVS, Buffy moves on.
1. Moving on

"Xander, you stole a van!"  
  
"I did not steal it. Before Sunnydale turned into Sunny canyon I just happened to notice that none of the car dealers actually took the cars. Its as good as abandoned property."  
  
"These are the times I really worry about you Xand. Besides you already have a car, why would you steal a van?"  
  
"Well, I'm kinda glad you asked. You see this Van has a DVD player in it." He put his arm around Buffy for a moment, "To keep the little kiddies occupied."  
  
Realization filled Buffy's eyes. "You got the van just so you wouldn't have to play 'I spy' with Andrew! Wait a second, we're bringing Andrew?"  
  
"I feel sorry for the guy. He has no direction, no place to go, and definitely no place he belongs. And Giles said it would be a cold day in hell before he let him go along to Cleveland."  
  
"He reminds you of yourself."  
  
"Kinda, except I was way cooler."  
  
"Of course." Buffy said with the most serious face she could manage.  
  
"Dawn and him have been getting along lately."  
  
"He's been following her around asking her to taste his quiche."  
  
"Yeah, but she's not half as annoyed as she was at first."  
  
"Fine. But I reserve the right to slay him at any time."  
  
"I respect that. So, which way do you wanna go?"  
  
"I think we should take a vote." Dawn interjected as she walked up to the pair with Andrew in tow.   
  
"Well I vote for not Mexico, there are bad memories...." Andrew said.   
  
"We could always move east, they have really good schools there." They all looked bewildered at Xander's remark.  
  
"Since when have you cared about school?"  
  
"Hey, its school for Dawn, not for me. Besides she can blow them all away by her Sumerian translating skills."   
  
"That would be cool. But what about the malls?"  
  
"Is that all you think abou- never mind."  
  
"I vote for the east coast too. The renaissance fairs there are great." Andrew added.   
  
"Well, as long as it's far away from Cleveland. Ohh and it snows, I've only been in the snow once." Buffy agreed.  
  
"We should go get supplies, we have a long trip ahead of us." Andrew and Dawn took Xander's car and left for the store, as Buffy and Xander stayed standing at the crater that was once known as Sunnydale.   
  
"I'm sorry."   
  
"Huh?" Buffy looked over her shoulder to Xander.  
  
"About Spike. The Slayers told me what happened."  
  
"You're not. You hate him."  
  
"Yeah, but you didn't. With what happened to Anya.... I'm sorry you had to loose someone you cared for."  
  
"Wow, Xand. That's.... You never stop surprising me. I am really sorry about Anya."  
  
Xander seemed to be contemplating something, "Well at least she doesn't have to put up with me anymore, so I... I think she's where you were."  
  
Buffy could sense how uncomfortable Xander was.   
  
"So, you wanna stay pirate man, or do you wanna Sammy Davis that thing?"  
  
"Well, Sammy is appealing."  
  
"You don't have to tell me..... Xander?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"For what? Geeze, I should be thanking you. You got rid of the hell mouth, one at least, you saved everybody."  
  
"And you saved me. Its what you do." She smiled and hugged him.   
  
"Now, while you were stealing this van, did you happen to stop by the mall and get me something purdy?"  
  
"Now I see it! Before you were all against stealing, but now the truth comes out! You're only against it if it isn't something for you. I'm telling your watcher on you!" Xander wagged his finger at her playfully. She smiled brightly.  
  
"I don't have one. I don't have a watcher. Oh, its like a weight has been lifted."  
  
"The weight of the world. Your not alone anymore."  
  
She took her hand in his for a moment, just as she had in the hallway of the school.  
  
"I never was. Not absolutely anyway." She watched as Dawn and Andrew started to fill the van with supplies.  
  
"This trip is going to be great. I'm going to be able to spend a lot of time with Dawn. And, bonus; we're in a moving vehicle, so no way for her to get out."  
  
"Yeah, just make sure she isn't carrying any taser." Xander looked over his shoulder and looked back to Buffy.   
  
"You ready to move on?"  
  
Buffy gave one last look to the crater then back to the small group. "Definitely." 


	2. Bus ride to Cleveland

Willow packed the bus with the last of the Slayer's bags.   
  
"Ok Giles, that's the last of them." She shut the back of the Bus and headed towards the driver's seat.   
  
"You ready to head on to Cleveland?"  
  
"Of course, twenty squealing teen girls in one compact space; are you sure you don't want to drive the bus? I'm not above paying you off."  
  
"Sorry Giles, me and Kennedy are gonna fly."  
  
"You can do that? I thought that was a myth... well-"  
  
"Yeah, we use these mystical beings called airplanes."  
  
"Oh, I see. Sorry I didn't mean to ... stereotype."  
  
"Its ok. We thought we would go ahead and try to find somewhere that would take twenty squealing girls, two lesbians, and a watcher in a pear tree."  
  
"Don't forget Faith and Wood."  
  
"Aww their coming?"  
  
"Sorry to spoil your fun Red. Hey Giles, I can drive the kiddy-mobile, why don't you ride with Wood?"  
  
Giles jumped out of the bus, which was odd for someone soo.... British to do. "Thank you. I'll just be going now."  
  
"I didn't mean anything against you Faith."  
  
"Yeah, you did. But that's cool. I just guess I thought with the whole fighting side by side stopping the ending of the world may have instilled some type of trust-"  
  
"No really. I thought that you and Wood.... Well, Kennedy and me made a bet. I thought you were going to ...have the sex."  
  
"Oh.... Wait, why haven't we? He still thinks he's better than me! Oh, he's gonna get it good and proper when we get to Cleveland."   
  
Willow waited until Giles and Wood had left and headed over to her girlfriend. She got five dollars out and handed it over to her. Kennedy smiled and followed Willow to their rental car.   
  
Willow looked back at the dust where the bus used to be and shook her head, "Slayers."   
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: I wanted to do the POV of the other Scoobies that are going to Cleveland, and not just Buffy, Dawn, Xander, and Andrew. I'm not sure I actually want to continue this, it kinda matters on the reviews I get. 


	3. woman, I'm teaching Andrew to dance

#%#%%#%#%#%%##% = POV change  
  
It never actually occurred to me before, but Xander has never cried. Ok, let me rephrase that. I've never seen him cry. I don't even think Willow has seen him cry. But now, I hear him. He is in the adjoining room next to mine, and through the door, I can hear it. Its faint, but I know crying when I hear it.   
  
Anya. She was his best friend. The one woman he loved, and now she is gone forever. I want to go in there. I want to talk to him, to comfort him. To tell him everything will be ok. But this is Xander. I can talk all about my problems with him, but how am I supposed to talk about his problems with him?   
  
He laughs everything off, that's how he copes. He takes his pain and makes a joke out of it. But he is soo hurt now he can't laugh Anya off. He actually is crying, and I can't do anything to stop his pain.   
  
I stand there, my hand on the door, as if I could feel his pain through the door. But I don't have to. Xander has always been the one to bring the happiness; when he is unhappy I am too. It's hard not to hurt when he hurts, even when you are the one who is hurting him.   
  
What am I supposed to do? How do I stop Xander from hurting? Am I supposed to stop the pain? He lost the woman he loved, so pain is ok, right?   
  
I felt like I couldn't breathe when Angel left, and he only went to LA. I can't say I know how he feels. I did loose Spike, true, but I wasn't in love with him, Xander deeply loved Anya. I am still very much the slayer I've been for the past 8 years, there is a problem I should be able to fix it, but there is no monster to slay. And I can't comfort him like Buffy would because.... because he's Xander.  
  
%#%##%#%#%#%%#  
  
Buffy sat down at her adjoining door and put her small hand on the fake wood. Having no other alternative she sat there and fell asleep. Trying to, at a distance, comfort her friend.   
  
***The next day***  
  
Continental breakfast. It was just another name for 'hotel is too lazy to make your food, so lets set out piles of random food.'   
  
Dawn and Andrew had been out there waiting for Xander and Buffy for about an hour. That didn't bother them though; surprisingly enough Dawn was actually having a great time playing '6 degrees of Kevin Bacon.' Andrew was funny, even when he didn't mean to be, and after the year she had she could use some good humor. Heck, bad humor would do too.   
  
Dawn looked around for the tenth time to try to find either Buffy or Xander and saw no one. She finally gave up and went back to playing her game with Andrew.   
  
****  
  
When Xander and Buffy did finally get up they found Dawn and Andrew still sitting at a table with Andrew gesturing wildly and Dawn laughing so hard she was crying. They were the only ones left at the table, so no one was staring at them, save the hotel staff.   
  
"Hey! Finally!! Everyonereadytohittheroadhuh?" Andrew got out as if it were only one word.   
  
In between laughs Dawn filled them in, "Never let him drink more than 2 hot chocolates."   
  
"I am not getting in any type of vehicle with him now!" Buffy whined to Xander. Xander didn't seem to be affected by Andrew, but he did seem rather shocked at what Buffy said.   
  
"Are you mad woman?"  
  
"I'm going to ignore that you called me 'woman'. But why must I be mad? You're the one that wants to get in the car with....." Buffy looked over to Andrew as he continued his 'conversation' with Dawn.  
  
"And then the elf saw this guy with cheese, and the cheese guy said that he wasn't wearing any cheese, but the cheese was wearing him. So then the Pink elephant got mad...."  
  
"With that thing!" Buffy finished.   
  
"Buffy, it's just a sugar high, he is in peak position now, soon he will be sleeping like a baby. It'll be the quietest drive yet."  
  
Buffy thought about it for a moment then looked to her sister. "Did you give him all that hot chocolate?"  
  
"Yeah....." Dawn's smile faded.  
  
"I love you."   
  
Buffy sat down next to her sister and listened as Andrew went off talking about nothing in particular, which of course Xander fully understood. The sisters spent the rest of the sugar high laughing at both men, especially when Xander tried to show Andrew how to do the 'Xander/Snoopy happy dance.' 


	4. Sweat, Rain, and Dancing

"Dawnie, how much longer?" Buffy looked to her left.  
  
"Yeah, my leg is starting to cramp." Andrew whined.  
  
"I can't believe you two. This is really cool. I mean here we are.... each in a different state. Four states, four of us. Besides, we went to see the wax museum you wanted to, this is my turn."  
  
"Hey, that wax was pretty cool." Buffy said in defense of her choice.   
  
"Dawn patrol, its hot, I've officially got a manly smelly sweat. How about we go now?"  
  
Dawn looked around a bit and sniffed in the air a little. "Alright." They headed back to the stolen van with the hot summer sun beating down on them.  
  
"So, where are we headed to now? You guys wanna go north then east, or east, then north?"  
  
"Ummm Driver's choice." She buckled up and watched as Xander took a highlighter to the new map they bought.   
  
"How are you two doing back there?"  
  
"I'm teaching Andrew why children of the corn is a classic horror movie."  
  
"Yeah, I was doubtful at first, but she seems to be converting me." Andrew agreed.  
  
"I'm CORNverting you." Dawn snorted, which got a laugh out of Andrew.   
  
Buffy turned back to Xander who was trying to start the van, but was failing.  
  
"Xander, did you forget to put gas in the stolen vehicle?"  
  
"No, I filled up at the last gas stop. I..... I think its over heated."  
  
"What?!" two voices from the back seat exclaimed.   
  
"It must have been all this time sitting in the sun..... We're stuck here until dark...."  
  
"Oh great. We're stuck... And Xand you are starting to smell...."  
  
"Hey!!! I warned!! Can I help it?"  
  
"Well maybe if you didn't wear a black shirt..."  
  
"Hey!! Fighting won't solve anything right now.... Besides if you get Xander angry he is just going to sweat more." Andrew interjected.  
  
"He has a point."  
  
"Would the peanut gallery in the back seat please leave the arguing to the grown ups?" Buffy yelled.  
  
"Ok, why don't we all just calm down? Its hot, we're trapped and aggravated. Lets just try and find a way to pass the time until sundown."   
  
They all stayed silent for a moment. Dawn and Andrew walked out of the van over to a rock underneath a tree to try and cool off a bit. Xander turned to Buffy who smiled at him.  
  
"Cards?"  
  
"Strip poker?"  
  
"As long as that shirt comes off I'm good."  
  
"I was just about to say the same thing." Xander smiled as Buffy overly dramatically rolled her eyes.   
  
"Come on Xander, take that off...." She tugged on the edge of the shirt.  
  
"I'll take mine off if you take off yours." He smiled again. Buffy thought about it for a moment. She did have a light undershirt on... It would be funny just to see the look on Xander's face when she actually did it. She tried to suppress the smile that formed on her face. She took off her shirt and threw it over to Xander who was apparently doing his impression of Mr. Bill.   
  
"Your turn." She finally let herself smile and was greeted by one of his. He took off his shirt and threw it over to her.  
  
"Ewww Xander!!" She threw the moist shirt out of the van and slapped his arm playfully.   
  
"That wasn't nice. Now give me back my shirt."  
  
"No. You gave it to me; I should be able to keep it. Besides you don't want to put it back on, it's all sweaty."  
  
"Hey!! Its not sweat! And even if it was there would be a bunch of guys who would pay good money for that shirt."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Do you?"  
  
"Founder of the club sitting right here."  
  
Buffy was silent for a moment.   
  
"Hey, forget about it, there is a bridge somewhere with water going underneath it."  
  
"You know how I'm trying to make all this stuff up to Dawn?"  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
"I... I need to do the same with you. Its just-"  
  
"Buff, I'm here. I'll always be here."  
  
"I know. When I grow old... I can see you being there, with Dawn and me."  
  
"Because I will be. Nothing will ever change that."  
  
"You mean no power trip I go through will change that?"  
  
Xander smiled a knowing smile. "Something like that."  
  
"You've put up with a lot. Especially in the past year." Buffy's words were thick with guilt.  
  
"This, right here? This very moment..... Makes it all worth it. You make it worth it."  
  
Buffy gave Xander's hand a squeeze. "I love you."  
  
Xander smiled and watched as rain started to pour down on them. Two forms came running up to the van and got in the back.  
  
"This means we can leave now?" Dawn wiped the water out of her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, nothing like rain to cool an engine down."  
  
********  
  
The four entered the club and sat down at a table in the back. They found this place on accident, and thought a little dancing may help them all to unwind. Andrew quickly whisked Dawn off to the dance floor where he tangoed with her. He was actually a good dancer despite his geeky exterior.   
  
"How you doin' Xand?" Buffy put her hand over his.   
  
"Great, this was a good idea you had."  
  
"No... I mean it was a good idea, I meant how are you doing... about Anya."  
  
Xander mumbled, "I suddenly wish we could go back to the days you ignored me."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Nothing. I'm doing good. Why would you think I wasn't?"  
  
"Because I can hear you at night. Xander... I lost my mom, if you want to talk about anything-"  
  
"Thanks, but I think I just need some time."  
  
"Yeah, I hear you. You wanna dance?"  
  
"Only if it's with my favorite slayer."  
  
"Hmmm she isn't in right now; but Buffy is."  
  
"Even better." 


	5. New pile of rubble, old problem

Buffy woke from her slumber and massaged the crick that had formed in her neck. She quickly looked to the back seat to see the two teenagers fast asleep. She looked to her left to see Xander concentrating on the road and apparently not noticing she had awakened. She watched the man next to her for a moment and committed to memory his every move.   
  
This man was very different from the boy she once knew, although, she decided, that the boy was never truly a boy. In her mind's eye, now, she could tell he had always been a man, and this man had seen his share of pain; mostly caused by her and her slayerness. This man had stayed and taken the pain she had to give even when everyone else couldn't. She felt a new respect for the driver fill her heart with pride. This goofy, loveable man was leading her to her new life. He turned to her and smiled brightly.  
  
"Buff." He whispered so he wouldn't wake the others, "We're here."   
  
She looked to the front window and watched the sign that read: "Welcome to Connecticut."   
  
She smiled and laid her head back down on the headrest. She watched as the two-lane highway led them to sights of trees and woods she had never seen before in her life. Andrew and Dawn soon woke up and complained of being hungry. They stopped at a Mom-and-Pop stop just off the high way and Buffy watched as Xander walked tiredly to the entrance.   
  
"You ok?"  
  
"Yeah, just a little tired. Don't worry about me falling asleep at the wheel, we only have a little farther to go."  
  
"Hungry?"  
  
"Do you really need to ask me that? Am I not the same Xander I have always been?"  
  
"You could be an evil clone."  
  
"Yes, I'm here to drive you crazy. Is it working?"  
  
"I'm driving across country in a stolen van, with two teenagers; one of which could possibly be totally insane, and a carpenter who has now admitted to me he is in fact an evil clone. I'm now officially farther away from home than I have ever been in my entire life and I also have the knowledge that I'm never going to be the same person I was. In fact, I have no future planned out at all. I don't even know how the hell we are going to make any money so we can stay here. What do you think?"  
  
"Sanity is overrated, trust me. You don't have to suffer from insanity, you can enjoy every minute of it."  
  
"You've been reading way too many bumper stickers."  
  
"Well, if anyone here drove we wouldn't have this problem, now would we?"   
  
"Is it my fault I can't parallel park?"  
  
"I'm going to say 'No' only because I know you can beat me up."  
  
"Smart move. You did say we only have a bit farther to go. Does that mean we finally have a destination," she asked as she sat down next to Dawn.  
  
"That's a secret of mine. You're going to see when we get there."  
  
"Are we going to be sleeping on the streets or does your secret include a place to keep us safe and warm?"  
  
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore. Don't worry I have everything planned."  
  
"Do I need to remind you how the last thing you planned went?"  
  
"Do I need to remind you who here has actually got himself a job?"  
  
"Ok, who ended up saving the world... again?"  
  
"You always use that. That's just Buffy's way to win an argument."  
  
The waitress came up to the booth, gum already snapping, "What'll you have?"  
  
"Green eggs and ham all around." Xander ordered with a smile.   
  
"Could you make my eggs light green.... I'm trying to cut back." Dawn smiled as the confused waitress went back into the kitchen.  
  
"No one has respect for Seuss anymore," Andrew said with a frown.  
  
*******  
  
"Xander!!"  
  
"Someone is in trouble," Dawn said in a singsong fashion as she watched her sister get angrier still.  
  
"This house is perfect."  
  
"It's falling apart!"  
  
"No, the foundation is great. It's just not really all that attractive. It's a carpenters dream. Think of it Buffy, anything you want can go into this house. You can make it your dream house."  
  
"Have you seen 'The Money Pit'?"  
  
"Trust me."  
  
"Look where that's gotten me."  
  
"Away from the hell mouth? Buff, the least we could do is try it out. One of those prep. High schools is walking distance. Think of Dawn's education...." He said softly to try to lull the slayer into the idea.  
  
"I still can't believe I have to go to a stuck up school. How in the heck did I get accepted?"  
  
"Because of a glowing letter from the principal at your old high school."  
  
Dawn looked to the ground moving the rocks with her feet. "Oh, I guess I thought I might have earned it or something... No big deal."  
  
"Dawnie, you did." Xander said both sternly and comfortingly, which got a smile from Dawn.  
  
Buffy saw the smile on her little sister's face and couldn't resist. "Ok, when can we move in?"  
  
***THREE MONTHS LATER***  
  
"I really like this color." Buffy said proudly as she rolled the orange-ish paint onto the wall.  
  
"With all the different colors in the rooms I can't bring any friends over without them thinking we live in a Hawaiian shirt." Dawn retorted as she moved the brush against the moldings.   
  
"Speaking of friends, I heard you were talking to one of the popular boys yesterday." Buffy smiled as her sister blushed. "My little girl is growing up." She sighed dramatically.  
  
"Excuse me but I was telling him off. He was making fun of Kent and his Star Trek shirt. I wanted to help the guy, I guess it just runs in the family."  
  
"Well as long as it was to help someone... Just don't let me get any calls that say you slayed someone during math."  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
"Yeah?" She turned to her sister.  
  
"Do you miss it, the slaying?"  
  
"In a way. I was good at something, an expert. Now, thousands of girls are experts and I'm Mary Jo Nobody. But then again I get to be Mary Jo Nobody who watches her sister grow up to be an amazing woman, and I know that's more than a fair trade." She moved some of Dawn's hair away from her face just as she had always done.  
  
"Thanks Buffy." Dawn said as she got back to painting.   
  
"Do you think Xander will like it? What about Andrew?" Buffy stepped back from the walls to try to get a better look at the color.  
  
"Andrew well, he has one of those action figures with the same type of color. Xander... Well he does wear those shirts..."  
  
"Good, then it will be a nice surprise for both of them."  
  
"You mean instead of the heart attack kind of surprise?"  
  
The phone began to ring before Buffy could get a good enough come back. She put the paint supplies down and started yelling at the phone that she was coming.  
  
"You have reached the Summers, Harris, and Dover residence. We're-"  
  
Buffy picked up the phone, "Hello." She said politely hoping it wasn't Andrew's boss again.  
  
Buffy... Its Giles.  
  
"Giles!! It's been such a long time! I was getting worried when you hadn't called for a while. How is everything?"  
  
Not so good. Don't worry; it has nothing to do with the slayers or the hell mouth... I've called you about a personal matter.  
  
"Okay, now I can feel you get really English. What's going on, Willow and Kennedy are getting married and you don't have a ring bearer?"  
  
I wish it were that simple. All I can say is you need to come to LA, tonight if possible. Oh, and you must come alone.  
  
"Giles I can't just pack up and leave here. I have a life here, responsibilities. "  
  
I understand that Buffy, I truly do. You do know if it weren't important I wouldn't ask.  
  
Buffy heard the door open and turned to see one man's shadow move to the newly painted room.  
  
"I'll see what I can do Giles." She said as she hung up the phone.  
  
"Hey Buff, Dawnie was just showing me the amazing job you guys did on the new room. So what do you guys want this one to be... we could go for a clue style house?"  
  
"Yeah, this can be the Billiard room." Dawn laughed.  
  
"What's the matter Buff? I didn't do anything did I? I swear that stick thing split me again-"  
  
"No, Giles just called."  
  
"How is everyone? Did someone get hurt?"  
  
"Everyone is fine. He wants me to go and see him in LA, he said it was really important."  
  
"Maybe Willow gave birth to Kennedy's baby." Both adults gave the teen a stern look.  
  
"What, it would at least be a little weird." She shrugged.  
  
"When do you leave?" Xander asked, knowing Buffy couldn't turn down her former watcher's wishes.  
  
"He wanted me to go tonight." She said solemnly.  
  
"I'll go call the airlines." Xander left the room, allowing Buffy and Dawn to hug.   
  
"I'm coming back."  
  
"Be careful." Dawn said as she let go of her sister. "I'll go and pack your stuff for you, you always end up forgetting half of it."   
  
Buffy made her way over to where Xander was ordering her ticket. He hung up and turned to her, "Midnight. Thats when your flight leaves."   
  
"Xand, what's the matter?"  
  
"Its LA." He shrugged.  
  
"And you don't want me there because Angel is there?"  
  
"I don't want you to get hurt. "  
  
"Angel would never hurt me."  
  
"Lets not go down that road right now Buff."  
  
"Are all guys this childish?"  
  
"I'm not being childish, for once. I just know how seeing Angel is like salting an open wound for you."  
  
"I can handle it." She said strongly.  
  
"Doesn't make me feel any better about it. Just promise me you won't do anything too... drastic."   
  
He took another look at the woman he was talking to and shook his head, "When you are doing something drastic just be careful please."  
  
"Okay. I'll be back." 


	6. Harmony's not getting sun

Buffy looked around the large building of Wolfram and Heart, noticing the sunlight and Harmony's lack of fear over it.  
  
"Hey Harmony." Buffy said for lack of a better word and a steak.  
  
"Hey Buffy," Harmony started too cheerful for any undead person, "Angel's waiting for you in his office. Come on, follow me." She paused before looking Buffy up and down. "I love that skirt! Oh and your hair!! It reminds me of the way you wore it our sophomore year. You look so good! What's your secret?"  
  
"I get plenty of sun, I have a pulse." She said not wanting to get into a further conversation with Harmony.  
  
"Here we are! If you want anything just have Angel give me a holler." She smiled and left.  
  
Buffy reluctantly went inside the office, to see Angel in front of a window and not on fire.  
  
"What's going on here? Why are you in the sun?"  
  
"It's just the glass, it's made safe for vampires. You look good."  
  
"Can we skip this part? Giles said it was important I come here. So, what's up?"  
  
"How is everyone? I heard you moved to Connecticut."  
  
"Dawn is ahead in all her school work, Andrew is enrolled in the CIA-"  
  
"The CIA?"  
  
"Culinary Institute of America. And Xander is doing really great, he got another promotion." Buffy noticed Angel's flinch when she said Xander's name but decided not to comment on it. "Now tell me what you want so I can get home."  
  
"Well what I have to tell you... I don't know how to say it but... Well-"  
  
"Hello Love." Spike interrupted. Buffy stood there in complete shock, Spike was standing in front of her, not burned into a thousand ashes.  
  
With his usual attitude Spike opened his arms and asked, "Miss me?" 


	7. not what I used to be

Angel shut the door and sighed, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, concentrating on exactly what to tell her.  
  
"Spike isn't the only reason we brought you here."  
  
"Good, I thought I wasted a trip."  
  
Angel's eyes ducked from her gaze, "So you don't care he's back?" He said, his eyes connecting with hers once he finished his question.  
  
"I'm glad he's alive. I wont deny it."  
  
"So you still...."  
  
"Did you entirely miss my cookie analogy? Look, why don't you tell me why I'm here so I can get back home?"  
  
"Your house in LA. Actually your mother's house, you own it. I asked you to come down here so you could choose what to do with it."  
  
"Choose what to do with it? I could have told you over the phone, it's becoming Dawn's college fund."  
  
"You do have another choice."  
  
Buffy scrunched her forehead, "Andrew's college fund..."  
  
"No, I was thinking you and Dawn, well you do have the choice of moving here."  
  
Buffy folded her arms, "What about Andrew and Xander?"  
  
"Well Andrew too, whoever he is. And if you have to..."  
  
"I knew vampires never grew old, I just never knew they weren't able to grow up. I'm not moving here. We aren't moving here."  
  
"I guess you haven't baked yet?"  
  
Buffy stood silent. "No, I think I'm just a cookie you wouldn't like."  
  
"But I do."  
  
"Angel, I'm happy for you. I'm going to go home now."  
  
"There's a prophecy..." Angel cut in before she could turn her back on him.  
  
************  
  
The groggy masculine voice said.  
  
"Hey Xand, did I wake you?"  
  
"Thanks."Buffy twirled the curly phone cord around her fingers as she waited for her sister to come on the phone.  
  
"Sorry Dawnie, I have to stay out here a little while longer."  
  
"Yes, no, and no. I don't want you to worry Dawn, it's not a dangerous thing. Just something that needs to be done."  
  
"I promise. Goodnight Dawn."  
  
*************  
  
Buffy went down another long corridor, retraced her steps, then went down the corridor and to the left.  
  
"Hey cutie, you lost?" The green demon took a sip of the brown liquor.  
  
"Actually I think I'm found. Are you Lorne?"  
  
"I get it, you're worried about that prophecy."  
  
"Well.... I guess I want to ask... Not really ask but..."  
  
"You want to know if everything is going to be okay after... the change?"  
  
"Yes. I mean I know I'll still be me, but I don't know if..."  
  
"I get it poodles, you've lived like this for so long you don't know if you can make it when you're changed. Alright, give us a little jaunty tune and uncle Lorne will tell you what's what."  
  
Buffy stood there for a moment, waiting for something, anything to pop into her head.  
  
"Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro, can you tie them in a knot, can you tie them in a bow-"  
  
"Honey you're going to be fine."  
  
"Are you sure? Should I sing more? I know the entire Fraggle Rock song if you want-"  
  
"Not necessary. You are actually one of the easiest reads. Don't worry, everything going to be great. Now why don't I lead you to Angel's office, we've got a ceremony to perform. It's one of the better ones, there won't be any sacrificing."  
  
Buffy gave a half smile and was lead by the green demon to meet her destiny. 


	8. Tony appears kinda

Andrew hugged Buffy tightly once she walked through the threshold.  
  
"I am so glad you are back. The next time you need to leave bring Xander with you, he's been driving me crazy eating my homework. And he snores when we try to watch Clueless."  
  
"Sorry Andrew I'm not allowed to bring Xander to LA, he and Angel would have one of those cat fights."  
  
"So spill, what happened?"  
  
"Wait till everyone gets home."  
  
"Awww, you mean I have to find out with everyone else? So unfair. I better get back to the kitchen anyway before Xander comes home. Oh, by the way, I like the hair."  
  
"Thanks. I'm going upstairs to unpack, just tell everyone there's a family meeting before dinner, I have something important to tell everyone."  
  
***********  
  
"Wait, we can't start yet, Tony isn't here yet?" Dawn said as Buffy's mouth opened to speak.  
  
"Who is Tony?"  
  
"That's the imaginary dog Andrew and Dawn have. They wanted a puppy and I said no." Xander said as he took his seat.  
  
"You said no to a puppy?"  
  
"See!! We said she would be okay with it!" Dawn said as she petted air.  
  
"Why am I the bad guy? I said no to a puppy without Buffy being here to approve the cuteness. Its not like I wanted to put it in the gas chamber."  
  
"Not in front of Tony!" Andrew put both hands at what was hoped to be the ears of the imaginary dog.  
  
"Alright, we'll get a puppy, now that's settled; Buffy what was your news?"  
  
"When I was in LA there was a ceremony I had to go through. I want all of you to know it was not for me, but for all the new slayers. I... My powers, the powers I had being the slayer, were given to all the new slayers. I needed to do it so they could be stronger in the fight... and I'm not fighting anything here so... Anyway that's it."  
  
"I think its cool you did that for them. Me and Andrew were going to go out tonight, is the family meeting over yet?"  
  
Buffy nodded and the two teenagers head out the door.  
  
Xander softly put his arm around her shoulder, "Everything is going to be okay Buffy."  
  
Once the soft words left his mouth she lost all control as salty tears ran down her face.  
  
"You're still Buffy, just stronger than before."  
  
"I'm weak." She cried, disgusted with her current state.  
  
"If you were weak you'd have held on to your powers. Buff, it takes quite a person to give up what makes them special. You aren't less of Buffy than you were, you're more. I believe in you, you can do this."  
  
"But if I'm not the slayer what am I?"  
  
"What have you been for the past couple of months? You've been a loving and devoted sister and friend. You've done everything you can to help others, that isn't the slayer, that's Buffy. Buffy you were never a good person because you were the slayer. You were chosen to be the slayer because you, at your core, are a good person. I'm proud of having known you for the past eight years of my life."  
  
Buffy smiled at the man in front of her and wrapped her arms around him.  
  
"Thank you. That means so much coming from you."  
  
"And the good part of it all is if you ever need help, you got the three of us." 


	9. OSCAR realization

"My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R. My bologna has a second name it's M-A-Y-E-R-"  
  
"You got the job!!" Dawn hugged her singing big sister.  
  
"You are now looking at the new Nurses Aid. What's even better is they were willing to work with my class schedule just as long as I promise when I become a nurse I'll work for them."  
  
Dawn jumped up and down, "This is the coolest! Andrew and Xander are just gonna die!"  
  
"Yeah, well they're just hearing the news, its not like they're my patients."  
  
Days turned into months and finally Christmas came. Buffy spent all the time she could outside in the snow watching Andrew and Dawn sledding or otherwise playing in the snow, while Xander and the new puppy, Steve, played in the snow. They were defiantly not the people one would consider normal, but it was the closest thing Buffy ever had.  
  
Dawn and Andrew would fight more now that it was winter and they both were on vacation, spending most of their days together. This didn't bother Buffy or Xander, but what happened next troubled them beyond words.  
  
"Buff, I'm not saying it isn't a valid point, it's just that superman would kick spiderman's ass, no matter... Is it too quiet?"  
  
"Buffy looked up from the book, Emma, she had been reading, "Huh?"  
  
"There's no screaming, arguing, banging...."  
  
"It's way to quiet." She finished for him. They both got up and went upstairs to Andrew's room. Buffy opened the door and found herself horrified at the sight in front of her.  
  
"Andrew!"  
  
"Dawn!"  
  
They both yelled at the same time. The two tore apart and sat on opposite sides of the bed they were just caught making out on.  
  
"What were you doing with your hands all over little Dawnie!! What have you done to her!" Xander yelled at Andrew while Buffy was yelling at Dawn, "You... What... Andrew... He's not like that!! You know he's.... sensitive... Why!"  
  
"Buffy! He is very much like that! We're a couple... I think... And you're going to have to accept it." Dawn screamed back.  
  
"She's not little! She.... She's very grown up... And we... We love each other, and you are going to have to live with it, please." Andrew finished leaving the room silent.  
  
"I'm standing here on my own two hands and I'm going to have a stroke. Buffy Summers, one of the oldest slayers alive is killed by her sister and her boyfriend!" Buffy then stormed out of the room.  
  
"I'm going after her, you two... don't do anything, don't think about doing anything and when I get back we'll talk about... THIS." He motioned between the two.  
  
He made it to the newly refinished porch to find Buffy in her favorite place to think, on the steps facing the front yard.  
  
"Okay, that was a very scary moment. I think I heard my mother's voice somewhere in there."  
  
"I was sure he was... ya know..." Buffy said as Xander put a down coat over shoulders.  
  
"Yeah, me too. So, you want to kill em?"  
  
"Na, but we can't just leave it like this, with the two of them being able to, you know."  
  
"Well, being a former teenage boy, knowing the hormones and such, I say we lock them up until their forty. But, since that's illegal I say we make some rules." Xander sighed.  
  
"God," he continued, "Me being the rule maker, never thought I'd see the day."  
  
"Is it just me, or did we just age like ten years?"  
  
"It's not you. You ever wonder how we ended up here? I don't mean this place, but I mean you and me, acting the elder to two teenagers who are now probably pawing each other to death, and a puppy who is probably peeing on one of the nice fake plants. But the thing is, this upsets me. I have this desire to tell them all to behave. When did we turn into the enemy?"  
  
"Dunno, I thought I'd be dead by now, and counting on when the death would occur I might have been fairly happy about that. You know of all the things I thought I'd be doing when I wasn't the slayer anymore, this wasn't it. I thought I'd be carefree, partying or something, but now I have no desire to 'shake my grove thang,' more make sure Dawnie doesn't shake hers. There's one thing. If I have to be boring, I'm glad I'm boring with you." She smiled sweetly at him, then gasped in pleasant shock.  
  
"What is it Buff?" Xander raised an eyebrow to his friend.  
  
"I'm baked." She looked back at her friend and saw him for what he meant to her.  
  
Not only was he her friend, but companion, champion, partner when it came to raising Dawn, and a man who she was without a doubt going to grow old with. She never doubted that, it was just then that she realized that he wasn't going to be by her side as a friend, but as a lover, the man she was in love with. These past months she realized that she didn't want to be with her exes, and now understood why she felt that way; she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. There was no way any woman could spend so much time with this endearing man and not fall in love with him. He looked over at her with his shining eyes and adorable half smile.  
  
"I'm not mad at Dawn and Andrew anymore." She said.  
  
She wrapped her arms and half her jacket around him, as he wrapped his arms around her trying to warm her up. As their lips were about to touch the porch lights flicked on and off, they looked behind them to see the two teens giggling. Buffy hung her head fully believing the moment had been ruined.  
  
"Screw it, I've waited eight years." Xander sighed.  
  
Their lips touched and Buffy knew she was wrong; the moment wasn't ruined at all.  
  
AN: Sappy, I know, but I'm in the Christmas spirit damnit. at least I didn't put mistletoe in!! 


End file.
